The Legend of Zelda: Sheik's Legacy
by GLJ
Summary: After Link has been sealed in the Sacred Realm, the evil king Ganondorf obtains the Triforce of Power and takes over Hyrule. It is up to Zelda, disguised as the warrior Sheik, and her army of freedom fighters to battle Ganondorf until Link's return.
1. A New Hero

The Legend of Zelda: Sheik's Legacy  
  
by GLJ  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the Zelda franchise. They are all the property of Nintendo. Enjoy the story. ^_^  
  
1 Chapter 1: A New Hero  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Princess Zelda sighed, and looked out the window of Impa's small house. Well, maybe small wasn't the right word. Impa's house was the largest building in Kakariko Village other than the windmill. It just felt small to Zelda, who had lived her life in the luxurious Hyrule Castle.  
  
"How has everything changed so much so quickly?" she thought, remembering the past week. "Only a few days ago, I was relaxing in the castle courtyard with...Link."  
  
She remembered back to when she and the fairy boy from the forest had met. She was spying through the window at the dark man from the west. Link had the Kokiri Emerald, the spiritual stone of the forest, in his possession. After telling him about her premonitions about the dark man, Link went on a quest to obtain the two other gems, the Goron Ruby and the Zora Sapphire. He returned a few days later only to see the princess and her personal attendant Impa fleeing from Hyrule Castle on Zelda's white horse. They were followed by the dark man, Ganondorf. Zelda had thrown the Ocarina of Time, the royal family's sacred treasure, to Link, but after that she didn't know what had become of him. She had hoped that he managed to open the Door of Time and receive the power of the Triforce after hearing her telepathic message, but there was no way of knowing for certain.  
  
"Zelda," Impa said, putting a caring hand on the princess's shoulder. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Ganondorf has obtained the Triforce of Power."  
  
"What?" Zelda barked, spinning around to look at the Sheikah woman's serious face. "How can that be?" she said as she started down at the floor of Impa's house. "Then...that means that...he must have...killed Link...and taken the Triforce."  
  
"No," Impa said sternly. "Link is not dead. When his hand touched the master sword, the ancient sages felt that he was too young to wield it as the Hero of Time. They have sealed him inside the Chamber of Sages, in the Sacred Realm, where he will wait until he is old enough to face Ganondorf."  
  
"But...but then how does Ganondorf have the Triforce?"  
  
"He only has the Triforce of Power. As the Hylian legend says, the Triforce, upon being touched, will separate into three equal pieces: Courage, power, and wisdom. Each piece will go to its true owner, predetermined by destiny. However, the person who has touched the Triforce will be able to keep one of the sacred triangles, the one that they most desired. In Ganondorf's case, it was power.  
  
"But what will he do with its power?" Zelda asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
"He..." Impa began, but was interrupted by the opening of the door.  
  
In stepped one of Hyrule's guards, one that had fled to Kakariko shortly after Impa and the princess. "Miss Impa, Ganondorf has just attacked Hyrule Castle, and the king...he's...May I talk to you privately, please, without the princess?"  
  
"I am mature enough to hear this news," Zelda said. Impa nodded.  
  
"Very well, your highness," the soldier replied. "The king of Hyrule...is dead."  
  
Zelda gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "No...but..." Her face's expression suddenly changed from shock to seriousness. "What is being done to stop Ganondorf?"  
  
"Nothing, your highness," the soldier stated regretfully. "Ganondorf has finished off most of our forces. The rest have fled here."  
  
Zelda nodded and looked back out the window. "Thank you, soldier. If you have nothing more to say, you may leave."  
  
The soldier bowed, unnoticed by the princess, and left the house. As he stepped outside, the other members of the Hylian army were waiting for him. They soon bombarded the soldier with questions concerning the princess. "She's all right, don't worry," the soldier said. "She seems like she's taken charge, as a good princess should."  
  
Back in Impa's house, Zelda was slowly receding to her room, knowing that she would be stricken by this unforgettable loss forever.  
  
* * *  
  
A muscular dark-skinned hand clutched the royal scepter, which had once belonged to the now deceased king of Hyrule. Sitting in the king's throne in Hyrule Castle made Ganondorf truly feel that he deserved to become the new king.  
  
After realizing that he actually was the king now, Ganondorf's mouth turned up at the corners, forming a sinister grin. He looked up at the high walls, which were decorated with beautiful stained-glass windows placed near the ceiling. So much work had been put into making those windows. They were gifts to the old king, from all of the great nations in Hyrule. They had been carefully made by the most skillful artisans and craftsmen, and gave the throne room its strong sense of royalty.  
  
Ganondorf hated them.  
  
He lifted one of his big, strong arms and aimed his open hand at a window from King Zora. With a blinding blast of energy, the wonderful glass shattered into a million pieces, falling to impale the dead Hylian knights still lying on the carpeted floor.  
  
A deep booming laugh echoed from Ganondorf. He blasted another work of art, and then another. He was enjoying himself.  
  
Finally, he felt that he had redecorated enough. He stood up and walked past the corpses and shattered glass, planning to explore the rest of the colossal castle. The room was left with the bright afternoon sun shining in through the holes where the windows had once been. One ray of light, however, was orange. It shone on the throne. The only remaining stained-glass window was the one from Ganondorf's own people, the Gerudos. It depicted a tall man with dark, tanned skin and red hair standing above all the others as their leader.  
  
* * *  
  
Zelda stepped out into Kakariko Village. It was dark, and she could hear a wolf in the distance howling at the full moon in the sky. She breathed in air. It was cool and fresh. She wandered around the village a bit, enjoying the peacefulness while everyone else was sleeping. After ten minutes or so, she realized that a song was emanating from the windmill. She started walking towards it, not sure if it felt comforting or menacing.  
  
Zelda stopped in front of the door to the windmill. She hesitated a moment, but decided to go in. She opened the door and stepped inside. The interior of the windmill seemed like an odd place to Zelda, who had never been inside before. It was a tall, single room with a wooden circular platform in the center, spinning quickly. A thick pole came out of its center and went up through the ceiling, where it probably joined with the arms of the windmill.  
  
"Who are you!?" a harsh voice cried, surprising Zelda. She turned toward where it came from and saw a man standing on one of the wooden floorboards. He was a bald man with a beard, and he was holding an odd music box, with a handle that he turned and a tube that went under his legs and came up to rest on his shoulder, where it ended in a trumpet-like funnel. He stopped cranking the box when Zelda came in, and the music had stopped as well. Zelda realized that this man had been the one generating the eerie song. "Who are you?" the man repeated after Zelda did not respond.  
  
"I am Zelda, princess of Hyrule," she said gracefully.  
  
The man gave a short laugh. "You may have the title of a princess, but you're not the princess of anything anymore. Your father's dead and Ganondorf is now in control. You're just a common Hylian now, like me."  
  
Zelda didn't like this man's harsh words, but she knew that he spoke the truth. She took a step closer to him. "Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"Who am I?" he said, seemingly amused with the question. "You don't really even care, do you? You're just a stuck-up girl who's been living the good life. Well soon, princess, you'll realize what it's like to live like a commoner."  
  
"What?! How can you say that? I am not stuck-up! And what do you mean 'living the good life'? Sometimes I don't even like this 'good life'! I have to go through lessons about being popular, and attend extremely long, boring meetings about politics. I actually wanted to be able to live outside the castle!"  
  
"Well then," the man laughed. "It seems that your wish has come true. Are you happy now?"  
  
"Of course not! I didn't wish for my father to die!" Zelda shrieked. She was starting to get angry with him. No...She was angry at Ganondorf.  
  
The man began to play a slow, soothing tune on his box. "Well, wishes sometimes come true, Zelda. The wishes of the good, and those of the evil. Your wish to live outside a life of royalty was answered by the Goddesses, as was Ganondorf's wish to rule. The Goddesses saw a chance to make two wishes come true at the same time, and they took the opportunity to please two people at once."  
  
"But I am not pleased," Zelda said. All the anger had left her thoughts now, even though it was still present at the back of her mind.  
  
"Well, then do something," the man said, as he started to play his song faster. "If you are not happy, then do something about it."  
  
"Do what?" Zelda asked. "I'm just one girl. I can't stand up against Ganondorf all by myself!"  
  
"You don't have to, Zelda. You are the princess of Hyrule. You have the power to do anything you want, as long as the people believe in you."  
  
"Do you believe in me?"  
  
The man didn't answer. He changed his focus from her to the spinning wooden floor. "Go around, go around, go around. Sometimes things go too slow, but right now, it's going way too fast."  
  
"What is that song you're playing" Zelda asked.  
  
Without looking back at her, he responded. "Go around, go around. A forest boy came in here only yesterday and played this song in my beautiful windmill. He made it rain inside and it began going too fast. Go around, go around, go around."  
  
Zelda stared at him for a minute or two before leaving the windmill. She walked back to Impa's house and crawled into her bed, and fell asleep with the melody of the man's strange song still playing in her mind.  
  
* * *  
  
She woke up at nine the next morning. Impa was sitting at the table, reading a book about the history of the Gerudo. "You're awake," she said as she smiled when Zelda got up from her bed. "You slept very late today, princess."  
  
Zelda nodded and sat down in the chair next to Impa's, as the Sheikah woman began preparing breakfast for Zelda. Impa placed a plate of pancakes in front of Zelda and sat down again.  
  
Zelda took a bite but put down her fork. "I want to lead a force to attack Ganondorf," she said, almost vehemently.  
  
Impa put her book down and looked at Zelda's beautiful blue eyes. They showed that it was not a statement out of anger or sorrow, but instead was a statement of fact. "I want to punish Ganondorf for what he has done to Hyrule," Zelda said. "We will make an army. I will command it. We can recruit a lot of fighters, I know we can! There are so many people in Hyrule who would gladly battle against Ganondorf! If we recruit them all, we can definitely defeat him!"  
  
Impa stood up and walked over to the window. "Come here, Zelda."  
  
Zelda walked over and gazed out with Impa. They stood in silence for a while, looking out at the scenery of Kakariko Village. "Zelda, I knew that this day would come," Impa said. "You are ready to take charge. I cannot stop you, even though I do not want you to get yourself hurt. I can only help you, and will do so with the best of my ability."  
  
Impa walked over to a chest next to her bed. She pushed it to the side and pulled up a loose floorboard that was uncovered. She took a small metal chest from the space and opened it. Impa held out a pile of what looked like old rags to Zelda.  
  
Zelda accepted them, and held the rags in her arms.  
  
"Zelda, this is the outfit that my son wore."  
  
Zelda never knew that Impa had a son, so this naturally surprised her.  
  
"My son and I were the last two Sheikah. He was a warrior that held the role of the commander of the Hylian army for quite some time. He died fighting against Ganondorf before you were born."  
  
"Ganondorf was being fought against before I was born?" Zelda said, surprised by another piece of information that she had not known about.  
  
"Yes. He was much younger, and much weaker, but he was still a formidable and wicked foe for to fight against for the Hylian army. We managed to defeat him, and he retreated to the Gerudo Fortress."  
  
"But if my father knew about this, why did he allow Ganondorf to return to Hyrule?"  
  
"Zelda," Impa said. "Your father was a very peaceful and forgiving man. He believed that Ganondorf had changed his evil ways. He never told you any of this...because he didn't want you to know. I...I didn't want to tell you either." She changed the subject to the clothes that she had given Zelda. "These clothes have magic in them. You can wear these, Zelda, to hide yourself so that Ganondorf will not recognize you. Also, these will make it much easier for you to use the skills I am going to teach you than if you were wearing that long dress."  
  
"What are you going to teach me?"  
  
"I am the last of the Sheikah, Zelda, and I want to pass down my legacy to you. You are going to learn the arts of the Sheikah, and I know that you will use them well in the battle against Ganondorf."  
  
Zelda nodded and Impa helped her put the outfit on over her clothes.  
  
"The magic in this costume allows you to transform back into your dress or into this as long as you wear them both together."  
  
Zelda walked to the mirror and looked at her knew self. She wore a skin-tight full body suit of dark blue, with white bandages tied around her forearms and waist. A white cloth was draped over her upper body, bearing the emblem of the Sheikah, a single eye shedding a solitary tear of blood. Impa stepped behind her with a pair of scissors and began to cut Zelda's long blond hair. With her hair shortened, Zelda wrapped another long piece of white cloth around the top of her head and her mouth, leaving only her eyes visible. She kept her hair in the front long, so she could hide her distinctive eyes. Impa helped her put red contacts over her pale blue eyes to conceal their feminine beauty.  
  
Zelda was pleased with the way she looked. She liked the way she felt, too. She seemed stronger, more powerful. "I am a Sheikah now, Impa."  
  
"Yes," Impa said. "You are Sheik."  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Author's note: As this is my first fanfiction, I feel a need for feedback from readers to help me improve my writing. Please leave a review or comment, whether it is advice, a flame, or praise. If the story is well liked, I will try to write a second chapter as soon as possible. Thanks! 


	2. Two Kokiri for an Army Against Evil

The Legend of Zelda: Sheik's Legacy  
  
by GLJ  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the Zelda franchise. They are all the property of Nintendo. Enjoy the story. ^_^  
  
Author's Note: I am well aware of the fact that Sheik is in reality Zelda, and a female. However, in the next few chapters, she will be referred to as a male, since that, according to the actual game, is what everyone in Hyrule thinks she is.  
  
1 Chapter 2: Two Kokiri for an Army Against Evil  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A solitary young man stood overlooking the once-beautiful Hyrule Castle. It was now dark and had an evil feeling to it. The castle stood on bare dirt and rock, instead of the grassy field that it had once been resting on. After almost seven years of being under the influence of the dark King Ganondorf, it was no wonder that the castle had changed so much.  
  
The young man's eyes squinted slightly under his long blond bangs. The horrendous sight of Hyrule Castle gave rebirth to the feelings of hatred he had hid for years. He turned to walk away after taking one more glance at the castle. Walking down the path that headed towards the ruins of Hyrule Castle town, he turned his gaze to the top of the Temple of Time, which was visible over the tops of the destroyed buildings of the city.  
  
"Oh, Link," he said, remembering the Kokiri boy that he had met seven years ago, before Ganondorf had taken over. "When will you return? Impa said that you were only to be trapped in the Sacred Realm until you are old enough to be the Hero of Time. It has been too long, Link. I'm not a hero like you. I'm just a princess. Please, Link, return soon. We need you."  
  
Suddenly a deafening shriek sounded throughout the town's ruins, interrupting Sheik's thoughts about his past. He swung around to see a tall brown ReDead closing in on him. Sheik's taped hand darted to his waist, where he kept a long chain, his weapon of choice. He snapped it at the ReDead like a whip and the zombie creature backed a few paces. Two other ReDead came up from behind Sheik and grabbed him. But Sheik was quick as a flash. He kicked his left leg upwards high behind him, making a perfect straight line with his legs that extended about six feet in the air. The blow knocked the head off one of the ReDead, and the other one stumbled back. Sheik recovered his balance and spun in a circle, swinging the chain around him. The spinning cold metal sliced cleanly through the bodies of both the remaining ReDead. Sheik snatched the magic jar that he had gotten from the corpses, boosting his magic energy. He ran out of the town, and through Hyrule Field to the Kokiri Forest.  
  
* * *  
  
"Bring it on, hot shot," said Mido, the self-proclaimed boss of the Kokiri while facing a grinning Mad Scrub. Mido lunged at the bush, holding out a small knife. The Mad Scrub squeaked tauntingly and easily hopped out of the way.  
  
"Rrrgh..." Mido growled in frustration, lunging again. The bush sidestepped and Mido stumbled into the side of Saria's house. He sat up and rubbed his head while saying, "What do you want, punk? Get out of here! You're not welcome here!"  
  
The Mad Scrub only snickered in reply and scurried off the burrow through its flower and into its little underground den. Mido stood up and rubbed his head again. "Oww, that little brat really got me. It's all Link's fault!" He quickly began to do his favorite avtivity, blaming Link for all his troubles. Mido then faced the direction of the Great Deku Tree, which was now gray and dried up with death. It had taken several years, but the magical protection that the tree had granted had finally worn off. Monsters from the Lost Woods had begun coming to the safe part of the forest, where the Kokiri village was. Mido, of course, blamed this on Link, too. Link had "killed" the Great Deku Tree by destroying the evil Queen Gohma that Ganondorf had planted inside it. In return for this, the Deku Tree had given Link the Kokiri Emerald, the prize of the Kokiri.  
  
"Darn it!" Mido said, throwing his puny knife onto the grass. The Kokiri Sword, the other prize of the Kokiri, had also been "stolen" by Link. "If that little weakling hadn't taken the sword, then I would be able to destroy all these little scrubs easily!"  
  
"Hey, Mido. Why don't you shut up a little and start helping?" Saria said, obviously not having any trouble cutting up the Deku Babas with her dagger.  
  
"Saria, you deal with these little scrubs over there. I can see that those Babas are a bit too much for a girl like you to handle." Mido stepped in front of the tall plant where Saria had been.  
  
Saria tried to hide a little giggle. She knew that Mido was having a hard time with the Mad Scrubs, but really, the Babas were tougher than the little bushes. She wondered why Mido, who was such a coward, had even volunteered for the job of destroying the monster invasion. "Probably to try to impress me," she thought as she fearlessly thrust her hand into the Mad Scrub's burrow. She pulled it out by the leaves on its head and cut it into twigs with her dagger.  
  
"Aaaah!" Mido screamed as he was assaulted with Deku nuts from all sides. Three Mad Scrubs and the Deku Baba were attacking him together. Saria rushed to his aid, but another Deku Baba erupted from the ground in front of her and attacked her. Another came from behind, trapping her between them. She tried to fight back, but the dagger was knocked from her hands. Unable to defend herself, she curled up as the Babas pounded her with their massive plant buds.  
  
Suddenly, all the Deku Babas and Mad Scrubs burned up in blue fireballs and vanished. Saria slowly stood up and picked up her dagger. Mido still lay on the ground, weeping uncontrollably. Saria lightly nudged him with her boot to show him that it was over. He stood up trembling and looked around, only to hide again at the sight of a thin, muscular young man wearing a tight blue and white body suit with a red bleeding eye emblem on his chest.  
  
"Who are you?" Saria asked, surprised to see a Hylian in the forest, but not threatened. Mido shook with terror, dropping his confident guise, as he had never seen a Hylian before.  
  
"My name is Sheik," the stranger said. "I have come here to recruit warriors for the battle against Ganondorf." His voice was oddly feminine for a man, however, it was too masculine for a woman.  
  
"I'm sorry, but we do not know who this Ganondorf is, nor do we know much about you," Saria replied to the mysterious character.  
  
"I have already told you that my name is Sheik, and as one of the last living Sheikah, I am a freedom fighter. Ganondorf is an evil man from the Gerudo Valley to the West and he has taken over Hyrule Castle." Sheik paused to land a powerful side kick in the face of an advancing Mad Scrub, and then continued his story. "My...mother Impa and I have been training and recruiting an army for most of the past seven years. But there are not enough people for us to take on Ganondorf, since he has the Triforce of Power. I come here to ask you to join us in the fight to maintain justice and good in the world."  
  
Saria stared intently into Sheik's eyes. They seemed to be hiding something. "What should make us believe that you're telling the truth?"  
  
"A boy named Link used to live here. I am a good friend of his."  
  
"Link?" Saria said, with images of his long-lost friend drifting back to her memory. "What happened to him?"  
  
"Nothing bad, I assure you. He has been sealed away for the past seven years. I believe that he will be returning to us very soon."  
  
Mido finally spoke up. "Link? Link?! If he's a friend of yours, then I'm not helping you! He's so full of himself and arrogant that he'll probably try and take on this Ganondorf guy himself. I say let Link get himself killed, and I won't be part of it."  
  
Suddenly Mido was rubbing a large red spot on his cheek where Saria had slapped him. "You're the arrogant one, Mido," Saria said. "If you're not going to help, go home and take a nap, since you're no good at fighting off the forest monsters either." Mido remained where he was. Saria ignored him and turned to Sheik. "Okay, what do we have to do? As Kokiri, we can't leave the forest, but I'll help you in any way I can."  
  
"Thank you, young lady," Sheik said. "However, there is a way to leave the forest."  
  
"What?" Mido said, not believing the stranger at all. "That's not possible! Don't listen to him, Saria, he's trying to trick us."  
  
"This is no trick," Sheik said. "I am a Sheikah, and therefore I speak the truth. There has been one other Kokiri to leave the forest, and I know him quite well."  
  
"Link," Saria said hopefully.  
  
Sheik shook his head. "No, Saria. Link is not that Kokiri. I am talking about someone who left the forest when you were only a baby. His name is Kohran, and he currently lives in my village, Kakariko."  
  
"What?" Saria and Mido said together. They had never heard of a Kokiri before leaving the forest except Link, who Mido had assumed was dead until Sheik had mentioned him.  
  
"How does he survive?" Saria asked. "I thought a Kokiri would die if not protected by the forest."  
  
"He is protected by the forest," Sheik said. "Fairies. In his free time, he collects fairies and he uses their life power to live. He frequently asks travelers to sell him something that they may have in a bottle, hoping that he might get a fairy."  
  
"So he...takes the lives of fairies?"  
  
"Yes. However, you must remember that fairies exist to help Kokiri. They are pleased to aid him. And of course, the moment a fairy gives its life to renew the life of a person, that fairy is brought back to life at once at its fairy fountain of origin. If you bring along a couple bottles of fairies, you will be able to help against Ganondorf."  
  
"Why do you want us?" Saria asked.  
  
"You are a friend of Link, and as friends of our hero, you are surely on the side of light."  
  
"I'm no friend of Link's!" Mido exclaimed, but he didn't rush off to his home. Instead, he grumpily tagged along as Sheik and Saria entered the Lost Woods to capture some fairies.  
  
* * *  
  
Ganondorf paced around one of the many rooms in his castle. He had a bad feeling about the boy named Link. He knew that the time for Link's return was near, and he knew that he had something about it. Suddenly, with a spark of an idea, he disappeared and showed up again in a room on the top floor. There were spell books and potions of all kinds scattered about the room. It was the room of Hyrule Castle's royal wizard, who was now long gone.  
  
"Hmmm..." Ganondorf, deep in thought, looked through the pages of the many books he had magically made to hover in front of him. "The right spell has to be in one of these somewhere."  
  
After he had searched through all of the books, he angrily stormed out of the room and went to the library. There, he looked through all of the spell and sorcery books he could find, but still, the spell he was searching for was not to be found. When he was about to give up hope, he saw one last book he hadn't looked through yet. It was entitled, "Dark Spells and Evil Sorceries".  
  
Ganondorf grinned.  
  
* * *  
  
The cold metal of Sheik's chain bit deep in the side of a gigantic Moblin. The huge doglike monster grunted and fell in a burning blue fireball. Sheik stepped over the scorched ground where it had fallen and continued through the maze of the Sacred Forest Meadow, followed by Saria and Mido.  
  
"I can't believe that these beasts are here," Saria said. "The only things that used to be here were Mad Scrubs and a single Wolfos."  
  
"Times have changed," Sheik said as he finished off a Moblin with a storm of needlelike darts. "Let's get going." He speedily climbed up a ladder and stood on top of one of the walls of the maze. Saria climbed up after him, and then Mido. Sheik pointed down at a hole in the ground blocked off from outside by the walls. "There's a fairy fountain. Get your empty bottles ready, and follow me."  
  
Sheik and Saria fearlessly jumped down the hole, and Mido hesitantly scrambled down after them. After walking through an exquisite passage, they reached the fountain. It was beautiful. There were plenty of fairies flying around above the clear water, which was about five inches deep. There were white stone pillars around it, and Saria thought that she could hear a peaceful music emanating from the fountain itself.  
  
Sheik stood in the center of the fountain and allowed the fairies to surround him. A few disappeared after voluntarily giving their life energy to him. He swung a bottle and caught a fairy, then swung again and caught another. After a few more seconds, he stepped out of the water and stood next to Saria, holding four bottles in his hand, each containing a fairy. Saria went in and did the same, but with a little more difficulty. After a fairy gave its life energy to her, she felt completely peaceful and content for a moment, as if time had stopped and left her in between. After collecting her four fairies, she got out and Mido went in.  
  
He had a hard time catching the playful sprites, which darted around him, seeing his grumpy mood and trying to cheer him up. He slipped on the smooth surface under the water and splashed around before getting up, only to fall down again after being frightened by a playful fairy. After a few minutes, he only managed to catch one fairy and found himself trudging out of the water, completely wet from head to toe.  
  
Saria laughed. "How can you be so wet after playing in only one inch of water?!"  
  
Sheik took Mido's remaining three bottles and caught a fairy for each one in a second. "Here. Now let's go."  
  
"Go where?" Mido asked.  
  
"Well, we have the fairies, so you two can leave the forest. We're going to Death Mountain to recruit some Gorons for our army."  
  
Saria and Mido had never left the forest before, and upon the phrase "Death Mountain", they began to feel like they'd made a mistake in agreeing to help Sheik.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----  
  
Author's note: Thank you all for the positive reviews for the last chapter! Again, please try to leave a note or comment on my writing to help me out a bit, as this is my first story. 


	3. Death Mountain and the Wrath of Volvagia

The Legend of Zelda:  
  
Sheik's Legacy  
  
Based on The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo64  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to The Legend of Zelda, however…(I was going to make some witty comment here, but thought against it) Yeah, I don't own the rights to Zelda, the world of Hyrule, or its people…so let's just leave it at that.  
  
Chapter Three: Death Mountain and the Wrath of Volvagia  
  
Hyrule Field filled Mido with terror and fear, but Saria quickly learned to like the open sunlight of the grassy plain. She followed Sheik closely, persistently asking him questions about Hyrule and Ganondorf. Sheik gladly answered all of the Kokiri girl's questions on their way to Kakariko Village, at the foot of Death Mountain.  
  
Twice they had to stop in Hyrule Field and replenish Mido with a fairy. Saria, however, felt fine the whole journey after only a few uncomfortable minutes away from the forest in the beginning.  
  
"It's your spirit," Sheik said, when Saria asked why she was faring so much better than Mido. "If Mido wasn't such a pessimist, he would be doing fine."  
  
Saria smiled, pleased with herself for outdoing Mido. It wasn't the first time, and definitely not the last, but every time Saria did something better than Mido, she felt like she was doing it for Link to get Mido back after his years of making fun of him.  
  
"Saria! Wait up!" Mido yelled, struggling to catch up with her and Sheik.  
  
"Slow down." Sheik said, and they all stopped moving. Mido caught up to them.  
  
"Thanks. I didn't think that you'd bother with me," he said, dropping his tough guy attitude.  
  
"It's not that," Sheik said. "Be quiet. It's almost nighttime."  
  
It was true. They had been traveling for most of the day. Hyrule Field was a much larger place than it seemed. The sun was almost gone below the horizon, and the moon was just rising. The concurrent sunset and moonrise looked so beautiful to the Kokiri, who had never seen anything like it before.  
  
Off in the distance, a wolf howled at the rising of the moon.  
  
"That symbolizes the beginning of pure night." Sheik said, and drew the chain from his waist. "And in the dead of night, the stalchildren come out to attack."  
  
"Stalchildren?" Saria asked, her fear of Hyrule Field returning slightly.  
  
Sheik nodded, "You will see soon enough."  
  
"Can't we just get to the village before they show up?" Mido asked hopefully.  
  
"It would be easier to stay and fight them until night is over," Sheik responded. "They may look scary, but they're not very tough."  
  
* * *  
  
Darunia, the Goron leader, was known as the 'big brother Goron.' He was tall and very strong, and he possessed one of the most intelligent minds of the entire Goron race. He was honest and had a good sense of justice, and he always took responsibility when needed. He was a serious leader, but knew when to cut loose and have a good time. He had all the qualities of a good leader.  
  
And he was playing with his son.  
  
"Hmmm…," He wound up his huge muscular arm, ready to toss a fast one to the young Goron child.  
  
"I'm ready!" Link said from the top of Death Mountain. Darunia smiled and tossed the boulder up to where his son stood in front of the Great Fairy's fountain.  
  
Link braced himself, and when the massive rock was in his field of vision, outstretched his own muscular arms to catch it. He was very young, only about a year old, but Gorons grow quickly, and he was very strong. He caught it, and after a second of regaining his balance, yelled back down to his dad. "Good throw!"  
  
"Good catch!" Darunia yelled back from the area in front of Goron city. Playing with Link brought back memories of another Link, the one who his son was named after.  
  
Darunia thought of the time he had first met Link. The Kokiri boy was only a ten year old kid then, but Darunia knew that Link must have grown up over six and a half years. Link had arrived for the spiritual stone of fire, the Gorons' Ruby. Unfortunately, he had come at a bad time for the leader of the Gorons. The dodongos, a type of volcanic fire-breathing dragon, had overrun the cavern where the Gorons had usually gotten their supply of the best tasting rocks. Link had played a wonderful, energetic song that lifted Darunia's spirits. After a joyous dance, Darunia gave Link the Gorons' Bracelet, allowing Link to pick bomb flowers and fight off the dodongos in the cavern. Link unblocked the opening to the cavern and had defeated the monstrous King Dodongo. In return for Link's bravery, Darunia had given him the Gorons' Ruby, and had made Link his honorary sworn brother, giving Link the freedom to stay in the Goron City as long as he wanted.  
  
"I wonder where Link is now?" Darunia thought, and effortlessly tossed the gigantic stone back up to his son.  
  
"Aaagh!" Goron Link yelled as the stone Darunia had carelessly tossed flew up toward him at a blinding speed. Darunia knew that he couldn't make it in time to catch it, and Link was too small to attempt it.  
  
A booming yawn was heard as a giant hand carelessly smacked it away. The boulder tumbled around Death Mountain and into a channel of rock, where it rolled down over Dodongos' Cavern and smashed into a wall, breaking into thousands of tiny harmless pebbles.  
  
"Why did yyyyyyyyyyou wake me frrrrrrrrrrom my sleep?" The huge voice of Biggoron echoed throughout Hyrule as he stood up. Biggoron was the biggest Goron of them all. He was ten times larger than Hot Rodder Goron, and five times the size of his brother Medigoron, who was too big to fit in a room and had to lay on the floor in a specially-designed area for him in Goron City. Biggoron was too big to fit in the city at all, and he rarely moved from his post on the peak of Death Mountain. He was a very kind and well-respected person, as he was also the best swords-craftsmen in all of Hyrule. However, he did tend to sleep quite a lot.  
  
"Sorry Biggoron," Darunia called. "We were just playing a game of Boulder Ball. We didn't mean to wake you. Should we go play somewhere else?"  
  
"No, don't worrrrrrrrrry about it." Biggoron said in his distinctive way of speaking. "Do yyyyyyyyou mind if I playyyyyyy?"  
  
"Of course not, you can help me!" Link yelled happily. Biggoron was a good friend of his and his father's, and he had moved from his mountainside home just to be there when Link was born. Biggoron was Link's greatest role model, other than his father.  
  
"Sorry, kids. Not today." A voice called to Link and Biggoron from next to Darunia. The voice was feminine, however, it contained the distinguishing Goron rumble.  
  
"Awww, mom!" Link said. He waved to Biggoron and started down the cliff, but Biggoron cupped his massive hands around the Goron boy and lifted him safely down next to his mother.  
  
As a female Goron, Link's mom was shorter and more slender than the men. Like all Gorons, she had very muscular arms and legs, and two small round eyes in a big round head. Her body, however, was not a shapeless boulder like most of the men. Female Gorons had bodies more like those of Hylians, however, they still had the distinctive bulk and muscle of the Goron race.  
  
"Link," She said. "It's getting very late. Come back inside. You too, Darunia." She waved goodbye to Biggoron as her son and husband trudged behind her back to the city.  
  
* * *  
  
Saria easily held her own against the stalchildren. Sheik had been right. They did look scary, but they weren't tough at all. The most threatening thing about them was their numbers. They burst out of the ground two at a time, and there were three of them to each person. Saria's dagger bit into stalchild bone, and it took only a few hits to destroy one. But for every one defeated, another rose in its place.  
  
Sheik took them out three at a time. His feet and hands were lethal. He had long since dropped the chain, preferring the quicker reflexes of his own body. He spun in a graceful circle of high kicks and low punches. He was able to take out three stalchildren per roundhouse, but barely had time to recover before three more burst from the grassy ground of Hyrule field.  
  
Mido, on the other had, was having a terrible time. He was lashing out blindly with his own dagger, but he usually missed the stalchildren. His attacks weren't useless, though. He managed to keep the skeletal zombies at bay. Every few minutes or so, a stalchild got brave and entered Mido's attack range. Mido managed to hit these stalchildren, however they usually just stepped aside and shook off the minor damage.  
  
The battle ended just as it had begun. A rooster far away crowed and the sun rose. As the moon sunk in the sky, the stalchildren did the same in the ground. All became calm again and Sheik calmly picked up his chain. Fastening it to his waist belt, he turned to Mido. "Are you all right?"  
  
Mido confidently nodded his head. He stood up next to Saria. Sheik turned around and looked toward the vague figure of Death Mountain in the distance. His small smile was easily hidden by the cloth that covered the lower part of his face. "Mido's getting better. After that battle, I was sure he was going to need a fairy. I guess he's growing faster than he expected."  
  
"C'mon. Let's get going." Sheik began heading towards the bridge to Kakariko village. Saria and Mido followed him.  
  
* * *  
  
The book of dark spells and sorceries proved quite useful to Ganondorf. There were two spells in it that he especially liked. One, was the Phantom Spirit Spell, which allowed him to make a phantom version of himself using energy from an alternate realm.  
  
The other, which he found very appealing, was the spell of bringing the evil out of a pure-hearted person. With this, all he needed to do was find a person with a lot of good in his or her heart, and taking the light energy of that person, he could transform it into a dark energy, ultimately creating a entity of pure darkness in the form of whomever the energy originally belonged to. The dark entity would be powerful enough to rival the light one, but it wouldn't have the disadvantages of life or emotion.  
  
Ganondorf decided to save the dark entity for later. It was a very powerful and dangerous spell, and there were hundreds of ways it might go wrong. Ganondorf was a confident man, but he wasn't quite sure if a being of pure evil could stay under his control for long. Nobody was pure evil. Even Ganondorf himself had a good side.  
  
"I will create the phantom first." Ganondorf thought to himself. "It will take a while, but it will be worth it."  
  
* * *  
  
Sheik was welcomed by everyone in Kakariko village. All of the Hylian soldiers and residents of the town greeted him kindly. Everyone except his mother, Impa.  
  
"Sheik, we must hurry. I can sense Ganondorf's power rising." She said quickly as soon as she met Sheik. She nodded to show she acknowledged the Kokiri.  
  
Sheik nodded at his mother's hurried words. Together, the four of them left the villagers and soldiers and made their way to the foot of Death mountain. A lone soldier stood in front of the gate to Death Mountain Trail. He silently moved aside and cleared the way as he saw Sheik and Impa approaching. He nodded to them as they walked past, and ignored the 'children' walking with them.  
  
* * *  
  
Darmara held her hammer in front of her beautiful beady Goron eyes. As a warrior, her weapon was very important to her. It was a durable, heavy hammer, the preferred weapon of the Goron people. Medigoron had crafted it for her. Though his blade work was not as good as his brother's, Medigoron was the best hammer craftsmen in Hyrule.  
  
"It's a beautiful weapon," Darmara thought, seeing her reflection in the shiny metal of the hammer's head. "But it is nowhere near the legendary Megaton Hammer."  
  
"Darmara!" The loud low rumble of Darunia echoed throughout her room. "You are needed!"  
  
Darmara stood up and went to the door of her home, where the Goron leader awaited her. "Darmara, there are some Hylians here. They claim to be looking for a Goron warrior to assist them against Ganondorf."  
  
"Ganondorf? I'll be right there."  
  
Darunia left to visit the Hylians as Darmara stayed in her house to get ready. Darunia walked along the many intricate stone pathways that made up Goron city. He thought of the last time a Hylian had visited the city. He remembered again for the second time that day the song Link had played for him. He-  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud booming laughter that echoed throughout the city. The laughter was followed by the screaming of Gorons and a thunderous roar.  
  
Darunia turned toward the source of the sound and saw a huge jet of flame burst from one of the tunnels in the wall of the city. Gorons, curled up into heat-resistant balls, rolled from the fire at top speed, propelled by the pressure of the heat. After the Gorons came another dark laugh and then the massive head of a red dragon poked out of the tunnel.  
  
Darunia knew the dragon at once from the Goron legends. "Volvagia…"  
  
* * *  
  
Impa paced around Darunia's chamber, going over battle tactics. Apparently the war against Ganondorf was going to take place sometime soon, and it was going to be huge. Saria and Mido began to feel that they had gotten into something too deep for a few simple Kokiri. The young Goron Link sat in his father's chair, not quite sure what was going on.  
  
Suddenly a massive boulder rolled into the cave and uncurled itself into the familiar form of Darunia. "You must get out of here quickly!" He shouted, heading them towards the statue that concealed a hidden passage to Death Mountain crater.  
  
"Daddy?" Link asked.  
  
"What is going on?" Impa asked without moving from her spot.  
  
"The dragon Volvagi-"  
  
Darunia's sentence was cut short by a loud roar and a sudden burst of heat. Volvagia was just outside the room, in the main area of the city. Sheik nodded to Saria and Mido and they took the signal, following Darunia and Link through the tunnel to Death Mountain crater. Impa looked at Sheik. There was a moment's pause, and Sheik rushed out to fight Volvagia. Impa ran after him to help.  
  
The sight in the center of the city was horrible. Gorons lay everywhere, many wounded, two dead, and most of them lay on the floor, their rock-hard backs protecting them from the dragon's heat and sharp claws. The dragon itself was a long red snake with claws that curled around the giant three-sided Goron statue in the center of the city. The worst part of all, however, was the man standing calmly a few levels up. His dark features and red hair were unmistakable. Ganondorf was the one behind all this chaos.  
  
Sheik glared at the Gerudo king and he glared back. The powerful eyes of Sheik knew Ganondorf well, however, this was the first time Ganondorf had seen the Sheikah warrior. But Ganondorf knew that Sheik was an enemy. He memorized Sheik's face, or at least what he could see of it, knowing that his path would cross Sheik's again in the near future. When Sheik's darts flew at him, Ganondorf easily dodged by teleporting away, to his castle far away.  
  
Sheik stared in pure hatred at the place where Ganondorf had stood. He remembered his childhood. The childhood he had spent in the castle. The castle which now belonged to Ganondorf. Sheik was broken out of his memories by the sharp sting of flame on his back. He turned to see Volvagia facing him. Impa was lying on the floor behind Volvagia, clutching at a wound in her side.  
  
Sheik jumped in a graceful arc over Volvagia's next surge of flame. Before he had landed, there were five darts in Sheik's right hand. He sidestepped one of Volvagia's metallic claws and flung the darts toward the dragon's eye. Volvagia roared and struck Sheik with one of his massive claws.  
  
A Goron battle cry broke out and a young female Goron wearing traditional Goron clothing ran out to Volvagia. She held a magnificent hammer with both hands, and she brought it down with full Goron strength on the crest on Volvagia's forehead.  
  
The dragon let out a monstrous bellow and tried to clutch at his weak spot with his claws. The short arms couldn't reach and he turned around to escape. Volvagia took to the air and flew out of the city, where he continued climbing into the sky, until he was directly over Death Mountain crater, then he dove down into the sea of red lava, to his home, the Fire Temple.  
  
"Thank you," Sheik said to the Goroness warrior.  
  
"Do not thank me," Darmara replied. "This is my home and I was just doing my part in protecting it. My name is Darmara, and you must be the Hylian searching for help against Ganondorf."  
  
Sheik nodded at her words. "Yes, but I am a Sheikah, not a Hylian." A painful groan caught Sheik's attention. "Impa!"  
  
Sheik and Darmara ran to Impa's side. Impa was hurt badly. A large burn took up most of the left side of her body, and she was bleeding from her head. "Sheik…" Impa managed to cough out the words. "This wound is fatal…I will die unless…take me to the Great fairy here on Death Mountain. She…she should be able to help me."  
  
Sheik nodded and Darmara picked up Impa's limp body. They ran to Darunia's chamber, where Darunia, Link, Saria and Mido had just returned from the volcanic crater.  
  
"We must go to the Great Fairy." Sheik said simply. Darunia looked at Impa and nodded.  
  
* * *  
  
A giant fish, the lord and god of the Zora people, moved significantly for the first time in many years. Jabu-Jabu dove deep beneath the still waters of the Zora fountain, and it's giant scaly belly scraped the rupees on the bottom as it tried to escape the wrath of a dark man.  
  
Phantom Ganon hovered behind Ganondorf, learning of Ganondorf's evil ways.  
  
"The more time it spends with me, the more like me it will become. The more evil it will become," Ganondorf thought, and the helpless Jabu- Jabu died instantly as Ganondorf dove in the water and touched its skin. The body disappeared, dissolved into the water it had dwelled in for thousands of years. 


	4. When Zora's Domain Freezes Over

The Legend of Zelda: Sheik's Legacy by GLJ  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the Zelda franchise. They are all the property of Nintendo. Enjoy the story. ^_^  
  
Chapter 4: A New Hero  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Fortunately, the entrance to the Great Fairy's fountain on Death Mountain was still opened from when Link had blasted it almost seven years ago. Not that it would have really mattered, though, since one blow from Darmara's hammer could have easily crushed any rock.  
  
Sheik, Impa, the Goron child Link, Saria, Mido and Darunia, with the badly wounded Impa cradled in his arms, all ran into the cave, which led into a beautiful fairy's fountain. It reminded Mido of the one where he had gotten soaked in the water trying to catch fairies. He didn't like this place.  
  
Darunia gently placed Impa on the clean stone ground in front of the Triforce emblem. They all waited.  
  
After a long silence, Sheik stepped in front of Impa and onto the Triforce. "I don't think the Great Fairy knows we're here." He put his hand up to his face to play the song of the royal family, but hesitated. He couldn't whistle the tune to Zelda's lullaby with the cloth covering his face, but he didn't want to reveal his identity to anybody. His secret identity had been shared between him and Impa for the past seven years, and he intended to keep it that way.  
  
The answer to his little problem came in the form of the beautiful golden harp. The shining glare on the harp caught Sheik's eye immediately. It was on a pedestal in the center of the fountain. It was amazing that nobody had noticed it before. It was as it had just risen of out of the pool without anyone noticing. Sheik knew that the harp was a gift to him from the Great Fairy, or the goddesses, or both. But Sheik also knew that it wasn't right to tread on the holy water of the Great Fairy's fountain. He unfastened the chain on his waist and with graceful skill, he managed to wrap it around the harp and draw it to him. The pillar the harp had been on sunk into the water without a sound. Sheik replaced the chain and held the beautiful harp in his hands. It was an instrument of gold, with beautiful strings that seemed to be made from the hairs of a Keaton's tail.  
  
Sheik held the magnificent instrument and began to pluck the strings. The soothing melody of Zelda's lullaby flowed beautifully through the air of the Great Fairy's fountain. A feminine laugh was heard from the clear magical water, and the Great Fairy sprung from its mysterious depths.  
  
"Greetings, travelers. I have heard the song of Hyrule's royal family and I come to serve thee." The Great Fairy floated on the air, and her long pink hair flowed behind her. She was a figure of pure beauty and magic.  
  
"Great Fairy," Sheik spoke to her with great respect, "our friend is very badly wounded. We ask for your assistance in healing her."  
  
Sheik moved out of the way so the Great Fairy could inspect Impa. After looking over the wound, the fairy nodded silently and allowed her healing magic to flow over Impa's body. Impa was healed back to perfect health in a matter of seconds.  
  
She stood up and, just realizing what had happened, bowed her thanks to the Great Fairy. She smiled in return, and turned to Sheik. "You may all go now. However, I wish to speak with you privately for a moment."  
  
Sheik nodded to Impa and the others and they went to wait outside by the cave's entrance.  
  
"You are Princess Zelda, are you not?" The Great Fairy asked Sheik the moment the others were completely gone. Sheik nodded. The fairy continued. "Why do you wear the clothes of a lonely warrior? You do not look like the princess Hyrule has grown to love."  
  
"Hyrule no longer has a Princess." Sheik said. "Ever since Ganondorf took over the castle, there has been no need for one."  
  
"There has been a need, Zelda, a great need for a princess. Take off that mask and let me see your beautiful face."  
  
Sheik's hand moved up to the cloth around the lower portion of her face. She pulled It away, revealing the slender, feminine cheeks and soft lips of the Princess of Hyrule. She blinked her eyes a few times and moved her hair out of her face, and the red eyes of Sheik that were previously masked became the blue eyes of Princess Zelda.  
  
"Zelda, you are a princess, and you shall always be a princess."  
  
Zelda nodded. Without the cloth around her face limiting her movement, she already felt much more like her old self.  
  
"The harp you hold in your hands is a great gift," the Great Fairy said, looking at the golden instrument in Zelda's taped hands. "It once belonged to the golden Goddess Nayru. As the Goddess who poured her wisdom into the land of Hyrule, she had left the Harp of Light here for the next person who would do the same. The fact that it was given to you, Zelda, shows that your future is very important to Hyrule, and you are destined to bring peace and justice back to the land.  
  
"You may once again don your Sheikah costume, Princess. When you step out into the light of the sun, you will once again be Sheik. But deep down, on the inside, you will remain a princess."  
  
Zelda reached for the cloth hanging around her neck. She pulled it up over her nose and blinked her eyes, using her magic to focus them into a deep red color. She tossed her hair a bit, creating the long bangs in front that hid her face and eyes so well. Sheik turned to leave, but stopped to ask the Great Fairy one last thing.  
  
"Link.? How is Link?"  
  
The Great Fairy only smiled and dove down into the magical waters of the fountain.  
  
* * *  
  
Goron City was deserted. The only Goron still there was the shopkeeper, who had been enclosed safely in his store. A single piece of evidence was found. A crudely written note was stuck to the door to Darunia's chamber with an arrow. Darunia picked it off and looked at the handwritten characters. It read:  
  
Dearest Darunia and anyone else who may be present,  
  
I have taken all of the Gorons and given them to Volvagia. They are caged up in the Fire Temple and I shall feed them to him as soon as I am finished with other matters. Feel free to try to save them if you wish, as it would only make a bigger feast for the dragon.  
  
-Ganondorf  
  
Darunia dropped the paper and stepped on it with a massive foot. "Ganondorf." He turned to Darmara. "I am going to the Fire Temple to see what I can do. I want you to go with these Hylians and help them against Ganondorf. Link," he looked at his son. "I would like you to stay here in the city if anyone happens to come by. Get a Goron tunic from the shop just in case any Hylians come to help us. But if you see Ganondorf, I want you to curl up into a ball and hide in the boulder room, do you understand?"  
  
Link nodded.  
  
"Good." Darunia began to move to the statue tunnel to Death Mountain Crater. "Darmara, push this back into place after I'm gone. Goodbye, Link. Goodbye, Darmara. Sheik, Impa, Saria, Mido, farewell." He disappeared into the tunnel to the crater. Darmara pushed the stone statue back into place.  
  
"You heard him, Link. This isn't a game, okay. A lot of people are counting on you to protect the city." Darmara said.  
  
Link smiled. "Don't worry, I can handle it."  
  
"Good." Impa said. "Then lets get going."  
  
Impa, Sheik, Saria, Mido, and the Goroness warrior Darmara walked out of Goron City and into Hyrule.  
  
* * *  
  
Ganondorf held one massive hand up high above him, circling it in the crisp air of Lake Hylia. He created a dark vortex in the sky above the lake, preparing another evil spell he had found in the book of dark sorceries. After only a few more moments, the portal of darkness was complete.  
  
Ganondorf flew above it and pointed his arms downward toward the water. His eyes rolled up into his head and a tremor went through his entire body as he focused all his magical energy into the spell. The blue sky around the entire area became dark and cloudy. The portal spun wildly, and the still water beneath it began moving around, forming waves. At first, the waves were small ripples, but after only seconds, Lake Hylia seemed as if it was a raging torrent. The waves jumped high into the air, and soon they were being sucked in by the hole in the sky.  
  
Soon all of the water in the lake had been absorbed except the cold water in the very deepest part, around the island in the center.  
  
Ganondorf, tired and out of magical energy, smiled evilly at his work and shut the portal with a wave of his hand. The sky became blue again and all seemed back to normal, except that there was hardly any water in the lake.  
  
* * *  
  
Princess Ruto of the aquatic Zora people, along with the rest of the race, mourned the death of the guardian fish, Lord Jabu-Jabu. He had been more than just a guardian to them, though. Jabu-Jabu was a god of the Zora people.  
  
Standing on the platform in the Zora's Fountain where Jabu-Jabu's giant mouth used to sit with all the other Zora, Ruto began to remember all the great times he had with Jabu-Jabu. She, of all the Zora, had had the greatest connection with the big fish, and a lot of it had to do with the Kokiri boy Link several years ago.  
  
Ruto had been a young girl back then, but she remembered every second of the time she had shared with Link. She had been feeding Jabu-Jabu one day, when she had gotten careless and had dropped her mother's sapphire into his mouth. She had reached in to get it, but was sucked into the fish's belly. Link had come in to save her. At first, she had pretended not to want his help, but in the end, she went along with him until she was separated when the giant octopus Bigocto had attacked Link. After Link fought and defeated both Bigocto and the parasitic monster Barinade, Ruto had given him the Spiritual Stone of Water, also known as the Zora's Sapphire, or the Zora Engagement Ring. Ever since then, Ruto had expected Link to marry her, and she had been waiting for him to return ever since.  
  
But now, with Hyrule full of fear and darkness, with Ganondorf in Hyrule Castle, with Princess Zelda possibly dead, with Lord Jabu-Jabu gone, Ruto didn't even think that Link was going to come back to her anymore.  
  
Jabu-Jabu's long, sad funeral ceremony finally ended and all the Zoras went back to their homes, where they continued mourning the loss of their guardian alone. When everyone was gone and only Ruto and her father King Zora sat in the Zora throne room, five mysterious people entered. Two of them seemed to be adult Hylians, and two seemed to be children. The other was a female Goron, dressed in traditional Goron warrior clothing.  
  
At first, Ruto was afraid of these people approaching up the stairs to the room, but the friendly look on the little girl's face reminded her somehow of Link.  
  
"Greetings," Sheik said to the Zora King and the Princess.  
  
King Zora nodded to the travelers. "You are welcome here as long as you come in peace. But.I am afraid that now is not a good time for the Zora. Our guardian deity, Lord Jabu-Jabu, has perished. All of the Zora are in great sorrow."  
  
"I apologize if I sound rude, but did Lord Jabu-Jabu die of natural causes?" Darmara asked the Zora King, believing that the sudden death of Jabu-Jabu to be connected somehow to Ganondorf's sudden violent acts against the Gorons.  
  
"We.are not quite sure how Lord Jabu-Jabu died. However, no corpse was found," King Zora replied.  
  
Darmara nodded. Sheik stepped up to speak to King Zora, but a loud familiar laugh echoed throughout the halls of the Zora's domain.  
  
"Ganondorf." Sheik's sharp eyes scanned the area. Nothing. He ran down the tunnel out of the throne room and looked down over the waterfall, but nobody was seen in Zora's Domain other than the Zora themselves.  
  
Ganondorf's arrogant guffaw boomed again. Suddenly the pool below him began hardening. The water's surface got whiter and stopped moving. An odd cracking sound ripped through the air as the water of Zora's Domain froze into a solid block of ice, entrapping all the Zora who lie within it.  
  
As the freezing waterfall began to diminish, a dark figure became visible behind it. Staring straight down into the area where the waterfall once was, Sheik realized that Ganondorf didn't see him standing there. Seizing the opportunity, Sheik jumped down to attack the oblivious Gerudo king. Milliseconds before Sheik hit Ganondorf, he vanished and Sheik plunged into the semi-frozen depths of the subzero pool.  
  
"Aaaah!" A white burst of electricity shot from Ganondorf's palm and through the water, electrifying Sheik. Luckily, all Zora are invulnerable to electricity. If that hadn't been so, hundreds of frozen helpless Zora would have died that day, like Sheik almost did.  
  
The ice began melting from the warmth of the blast, but Ganondorf renewed the chilling spell and the water began to freeze faster than before.  
  
"Aaarrgh!" Ganondorf turned around to see what had hit him. A Kokiri girl stood atop the waterfall, glaring at him. She was poised as though she had just thrown a dagger at him. Ganondorf rubbed his head again. Luckily, the girl had been too young to know how to properly throw a dagger and only the handle had hit him in the head. But still, it hurt. And it distracted him.  
  
Sheik, still slightly incapacitated but quickly regaining his energy, leaped from the pool and landed swiftly on the area frozen solid with ice. The spot he had been in froze over, leaving now a solid, glassy fighting arena for Sheik and Ganondorf. With all the Zora frozen under the surface, Sheik could duel without worrying about the safety of others.  
  
Sheik took up the traditional Sheikah fighting stance, preparing for an all-out fight with the Gerudo King. However, the high scream of Princess Ruto shattered his thoughts, and he abandoned Ganondorf to go to the princess. Running up the stone steps to the throne room once again, Sheik saw a disturbing sight. King Zora was halfway frozen in red ice, the kind of ice that was only meltable by the rare blue fires of the Ice Cavern. Princess Ruto was also frozen in the stuff, but up to her neck. She was lying on the platform in front of her father, screaming, with Impa, Darmara, Saria, and Mido crowded around her, trying to help. King Zora kept yelling, "Save my daughter. Forget about me!"  
  
"Shut up, gill neck!" Mido screamed at him. "We're trying to forget about you!" He was pounding on Ruto's red ice with the butt of his dagger. Saria stood playing her fairy ocarina, an odd tune that blended mysteriously with the shouts of the others in the room.  
  
Impa, who was kneeling next to Ruto's head and trying unsuccessfully to calm her, was the first to notice Sheik. "Sheik. Princess Ruto is being frozen in red ice."  
  
Sheik refrained from mentioning something about stating the obvious. He knelt down on the other side of the Zora princess, ignoring her father's shouts. "What are you doing to stop this? What can I do?"  
  
"I'm using what little magic I have to prevent the ice from moving further up the Princess's body however, my power won't last much longer. Saria's tune is taking all the peacefulness and good from the area and using it to block off Ganondorf from coming in here. Unless.Did you manage to beat him?"  
  
Sheik shook his head. "Ganondorf can wait. The princess needs immediate help."  
  
"Go to the Ice Cavern, Sheik. Take Mido with you. He's not helping here much."  
  
"What about Darmara?" Sheik asked, looking at the Goron warrior, who was standing slightly away from the group.  
  
"Gorons aren't used to this kind of cold." Impa responded. "We can't expect her to do much here. Hurry! The Ice Cavern is just out there. It's a cave in the wall of Zora's fountain."  
  
Sheik ran out, and Mido followed as Impa instructed.  
  
* * *  
  
Zora's Fountain was oddly peaceful compared to the chaos inside the throne room. The absence of Lord Jabu-Jabu seemed odd, but not as unnerving as the falling snow and the large spinning ice chunks in the water.  
  
Sheik nimbly hopped from glacier to glacier, closing in on his destination, the entrance of the Ice Cavern. Mido followed uneasily, slipping on the ice and occasionally falling into the freezing waters.  
  
"Why did Impa make me bring him?" Sheik thought, helping Mido across the fountain and to the cavern.  
  
The cavern itself was even calmer and quieter than the fountain. Mido set loose a fairy to restore his energy once they were on the solid ground, and pocketed the empty bottle.  
  
"Let's get going," Sheik said. "This place looks like it's pretty big." It definitely wasn't as big as Hyrule Castle, but the cavern was larger than any interior place Sheik had been to over the past seven years, other than Goron city.  
  
"Freezards." Sheik stopped Mido from carelessly entering a large open room. There was seemingly no harm here, but Sheik recognized the moving spikes of ice on the ground from all the teachings he had learned from Impa. "Wait here," Sheik said to Mido, and ran out into the middle of the room. Sure enough, four men of ice burst from the floor around Sheik. Five or six darts from Sheik's needle storm destroyed the first, and Sheik brandished his metal chain whip to eliminate the other three. He spun in a full circle, trailing the weapon and cutting into the hard icy bodies of the Freezards as they closed in on him. The threat of the Freezards ended and Sheik wasn't touched by their chilling frosts.  
  
Sheik cleared all the puzzles and challenges of the dungeon, with Mido always trailing behind. In another room, they stumbled across a gigantic flame, blue in color. "The blue fire," Sheik said.  
  
He ripped off a piece of tattered cloth from his wrist and put the end in the fire, hoping the enflame the clot and use it to bring the fire back to Ruto. Nothing happened. Sheik retrieved the cloth strap and slowly put his hand in the flame. Nothing. There was no burn. It felt as though he were putting his hand in a container of cool water. "How do we get this back to the others?" Sheik began pacing around the flame, thinking. How could they carry water? "How could we carry water?"  
  
"Could we use this?" Mido handed Sheik the empty bottle. Sheik grabbed it, and unplugged the top. He swung it in the flame and quickly shoved the cork in again.  
  
So that's why Impa told me to bring Mido, Sheik realized. A small bit of blue flame flicked inside the bottle. Sheik handed it back to Mido. "Be careful with this."  
  
They turned to leave.  
  
King Zora was entirely frozen. The Zora Princess was fully encased in the red ice. Impa, Darmara, and Saria were standing there, knowing that the only thing they could do now was wait for Sheik.  
  
Sheik arrived. He ran past the bloated hunk of red ice that was King Zora and knelt next to Ruto. Mido handed him the bottle of fire and Sheik unplugged it, spilling the cool flame all over the red ice. It slowly thawed, and Ruto sat up. "Link?"  
  
The name startled everyone. Princess Ruto knew Link? Darmara imagined the young Goron Link rolling around in Zora's domain with Ruto, but recalled the stories of the Hylian Darunia had told her.  
  
"No, Link's not here," Sheik said. "But we are friends of his. We just saved you from an eternity in red ice."  
  
Ruto saw her father, frozen in the ice. In a way, he looked funny. But still, it was a horrible sight to see someone frozen solid. "Daddy! Will he be okay?"  
  
Impa nodded. "Don't worry about him. Worry about yourself, your future. The future of Hyrule. Surely you know of what Ganondorf has been doing. Princess Ruto, I invite you to accompany us on our quest against Ganondorf;."  
  
The princess looked around at the frozen domain. "It looks like I'm not really needed here," she said. "I'll come. And I'll take down Ganondorf for what he did to my people and Lord Jabu-Jabu."  
  
* * *  
  
Ganondorf's castle shook with the Dark King's power. He was focused on summoning a demon from beneath the water temple. The only way to refill Lake Hylia and return to frozen Zora's Domain was to do it from within the temple, and with this demon of water in the way, there was no chance that the Zora people could ever be saved.  
  
"Not even that Sheik will be able to defeat my Morpha.Not even Sheik." 


End file.
